Faking
by Xeen Cyr
Summary: It felt like it was time  again  to rewrite the end of the season. What if a phone call could change it all?


ROOKIE BLUE (isn't mine)

_**FAKING**_

_I felt like it was time to rewrite again the end of the season. Not exactly what I had in mind to begin with. Way too much dialogs, my bad! Once again, thank you for all the reviews and all, you're the best! _**ONE SHOT**_  
_

-o-

A glimmer on the coffee table caught his eye. He managed to grab the cell phone without spilling his scotch which was great given his current state of intoxication. Once he read the name on the caller ID, he pressed the TV remote to turn down the volume. Hypnotic white and black players continued running on the very green field of his plasma screen. "McNally, you okay?" He checked his watch. 2:34 am. Well, if she needed to talk, it was as good a time as any. For once, he was glad he did not go to bed right away when he finally made it home. Not that he was proud of taking refuge in alcohol, but he hated it when she called for comfort in the middle of night and he was so drowsy that it took all of his energy to simply stay awake and listen to her. He could hear her breathe. She kept quiet for what seemed like an eternity.

"I don't know," she finally said, her voice almost a whisper.

"Okay." He paused. He slouched back on the couch. "Is it about tonight?" It had been a close call and he was still shaky.

"Sort of." He could barely hear her over the phone.

"You can't sleep? You're having nightmares?"

When she did not answer, he pictured her biting her lip, with that cute frown on her face that made him want to kiss her in front of the whole division.

"Sam, I want to know something. Promise me you won't be mad, can you do that?"

"Am I ever mad at you, McNally? You didn't let a dangerous prisoner escape this time, did you?"

"You said he was not dangerous."

"Not the point. I can't promise not to be mad if I don't know what is it you want to ask me."

"Fair enough," she muttered. Silence ensued. And more silence. At some point, he checked his phone to make sure they had not been disconnected. On the screen, the Blue Jays were on the winning streak at the Rogers Center.

"Andy, what is it? Why can't you talk to Callaghan, is he not with you?"

"As a matter of fact, not that is it any of your business, no, I can't."

"And why's that?" He should not have brought the colleague with benefits subject, but now it was too late to back off. Callaghan was supposed to be there for her when she was off shift. He was more than happy to take charge of the rest. At least, during the day, she was all his. "Andy, if you can't talk to Luke, talk to me! That's kind of the reason you called in the first place…" He was rewarded by more awkward silence. He got up from his couch and walked to the fridge. He grabbed a handful of ice cubes and threw them in his glass, pouring some more scotch for good measure. He would have to nurse yet another headache tomorrow, no big deal, from where he stood, it was totally worth it. He took a swig. He should not have. All of a sudden, her silence was not cute, it was just plain irritating. "McNally, it's almost three, I'm already way over the recommended safe limits of alcohol, so why don't you get to the point already?" As soon as he paused, he knew that he had come too strong. "If you want me to help, you have to be more specific. I may be a fantastic cop, I can't read your mind. Come on, work with me, give me something!"

"Sam, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called."

"Of course you're sorry, but again not the point. Get it out your chest. At least the two of us will have a chance to get some sleep tonight once you're done."

"It's…" she paused.

Why did she have to be such a drama queen all the time? He smiled. He would not have it any other way. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong."

"There's nothing wrong, I mean, there is, but in a good way."

"I don't have a headache yet so please, could you just quit being so cryptic for five minutes?"

"I can't talk to Luke because I'm alone."

"What? I saw you two get in the car... So, he left you alone, again? I was under the impression that he had learned his lesson after our little incident after the Rec Center shooting." For this one time, she did not protest.

"I broke up with him." He had nothing to say to that, so he chose to stay silent. "We… we were going to move in together."

"I don't understand. You broke up because?"

"No, it's not like that. It was great. It felt great actually. It was a nice feeling."

"Is it why you're calling?"

"No, it's not." Her voice was cold. "We had a fight."

"Lover's tiff, you two love birds will be all right tomorrow."

"Not this time. Sam, listen, he never asked me if I was okay tonight. He didn't ask me anything actually. He just wanted to make sure that I was relieved because YOU were okay."

"I don't understand."

"Exactly! He said that I had your back today, but that's what we do, right?"

"We sure do."

"And then I gave my statement and he disappeared."

"He disappeared?"

"Yep. His schedule was derailed by our operation I guess," she snorted. "He had to work on a case. I was heading to the hospital with Trace when Dov told us that Chris was okay."

"Yeah, I heard. I was there. I lent a shoulder to Peck. She was a mess. But I'm glad the kid is all right." He heard her breathe heavily. "Andy, you okay? Chris will be fine, it's okay."

"You were at the hospital?" she asked cautiously.

"Of course, I was! The poor guy was wounded, that's the least I could do. You don't have to worry Andy, he's going to be fine," he said again, puzzled by her strong reaction.

"And what about Gail?"

"What about her?"

"Nothing," she said, raising her voice to too high a pitch. She took a deep breath. "Actually, no, it's not nothing," she blurted out. "You know that Chris is crazy about her right?"

"Of course I know, it's practically tattooed on his forehead."

"Don't make fun of him, I find it actually pretty sweet."

"I wouldn't think otherwise."

"So what is it exactly that you're doing with Gail?" He frowned and looked at his phone in disbelief. What was it coming from? "Do you sleep with her?"

"Wow, wow, wow," he pressed the phone back to his ear, "don't you think you're going overboard? We are two consenting adults, I don't need your permission."

"That's not what I meant."

"That's exactly what you meant. Is it why you called? You're short of a boyfriend? So you're going to ask me if you can come over for a quickie and be on your way? Oh, wait. Rewind. If my recollection is correct, you'll probably be on your way before anything happens anyway." If he was expecting her to hang up, he was disappointed.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"You're the one who keeps rehashing this. I'm entitled to live my life as I see fit McNally. I'm your partner, not your boyfriend."

"I know."

"You sound very territorial for a partner, you understand that, don't you? Let me ask you something. You're the one always sounding off about faking it McNally. Like I said, you don't have to. I mean it."

"I don't know how."

"Of course you do! You can do it. You were great tonight. Stop second guessing yourself. Do you hear me, Andy?"

"Yes, yes, I do." She sighed. "You didn't seem to mind when I sold our couple to Angel."

"Of course not, you were perfect out there."

"You were sold too."

"Andy we were _on the job_!" he pounded.

"I know because I saw the look on your face. You would never have kissed me otherwise."

"I just wanted to make sure that Angel was buying it," he said, trying to find a way out this slippery slope. He had had too much to drink. He had said things that he would regret in the morning. And first and foremost, he had to calm her down. There was no point in justifying what he had done or not done. Given the same predicament, he would do it again. It was not in his nature to regret his actions. Her fight with the detective was simply the icing on the cake. He felt bad for her, but at the same time, it was great. He thought for a minute that the right thing to do would be to go to her place and talk to her face to face, but he was in no condition to drive. "It was an act," he stated, hoping his voice conveyed enough confidence.

"I don't believe you."

"Well, it takes some training, and a dash of know how, and some guts. And you pulled it on beautifully Andy, but still an act." He could hear her think over the phone. It was way too late for having this conversation. "I know you're not easily cast down, so why don't you tell me what's really going on here?"

"Sam, I'm freezing out there, could you let me in, please?"

He tossed his phone on the coffee table, strode to the foyer, unlocked the door, swinging it open. She was breathtakingly beautiful. So he held his breath and let her in.


End file.
